Vacuum cleaner



Feb. 21, 1933. I a WALES 1,898,410

VACUUM QLEANER Filed Dec. '11, 1930' Patented Feb. 21', 1933 UNITED STATES NATHANIEL BRACKET! WALES, OF PARIS, FRANCE VACUUM CLEANER Application filed December 11, 1880, Serial No. 501,879, and in France December 26, 1929.

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner of the type in which the dust bag is wholly contained within the handle stem and in which the dust is deposited on the outside of the bag between the latter and the wall of the handle stem.

-One object of my invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner of light weight, and both simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for effectively withdrawing the dust from the cleaner so that the latter is always ready for use. With this end in view, I fit to the outside of the dust bag a sliding dust seal arranged in tight fitting engagement with the inner wall of the handle stem, the dust being forced out of said handle stem by said dust seal when the dust bag is pulled outwardly through said stem.

A further object of my invention is to provide a nozzle fitted to one end of said handle stem and which will allow a constant cross-section of air flow for all operating angles of said nozzle.

lVith these and other objects in view, the

invention includes .the novel features of con-.

struction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined by the appended claims.

I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the appaar ratus along the longitudinal axis of the latter.

Fig. 2 shows the same apparatus, partly in outside view and partly in longitudinal section.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section, on a larger scale,

0 along the line III-'III of Fig, 1.

Fig. 4- is a cross-section, on a larger scale, along the line I'V-IV of Fig.1.

F ig. 5 is a cr0ss-section, on a larger scale,

. along the line V-V, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the apparatus looking in thedirection of the arrow VI of Fi 1. Fig. 7 is a section along the line VII II of Fig. 6 on a larger scale, viewed in the direction ofthe arrows and turned through My apparatus comprises an elongate handle stem 1, carried by the end of a housing 2 accommodating an electric motor adapted to drive a fan 3 the several vanes of which are of unequal length. Said fan dxaws the air into the stem 1 and discharges it through the openings 4 provided for this purpose in the housing. T 0 said housing 2 I fit. behind the openings 4. a circular collar 5 made of any suitable substance, rubber, metal. etc. bent back in the direction of said openings, in order to prevent the current of air issuing from the openings 4 from striking the operator who holds the apparatus by the handle 6 which is in alignment with the housing and in which the electric current plug is placed. lVhen it is desired to stow away the apparatus the latter may be hung by said collar 5 on a hook 5. The

. apparatus can thus be hung vertically on a wallet a room, so that it only occupies a very small space and leaves the floor space quite free. I can make said collar 5 of rubber', so that it will damp the shock if the apparatus were to fall to the ground.

Within the handle stem 1 is placed the dust bag 14 made of fabric for arresting the dust drawn in with the air by the apparatus. Said bag 14 passes over a supporting frame constituted by a certain number of wires 7 arranged along the length of the stem and supported by spiders 8. At its end nearest the suction fan and over the greater portion of its length, said frame is cylindrical. However, it is conical towards the end of the stem carrying the nozzle.

At their ends, adjacent the suction motor, the wires 7 serving as a support for the bag 14, are carried by a ring 9 made of suitable slightly resilient material, which presses against the inside of the tube and forms therewith an airtight seal. To mount the frame carrying the dust bag within the stem 1 I merely have to slip it into said stem and due to its rigidity 'I can then push it up the tube without any risk of its getting out of shape. At the top of the cone terminating said frame I place a member, for example a ring 10, by which the frame can be pulled in order to withdraw it from the. tube.

Once the bag hasbeenput into-place, the l nozzle suitably designed for the cleaning operation to be performed, is fixed on the lower part of the tube.

I have shown a novel form of nozzle by wasy of example.

aid nozzle 11 comprises a brush 13 of cylindrical shape (Fig. 7), having a slot 12 through which the suction takes place.

To clean the apparatus, the nozzle 11 is removed and the bag is gently pulled by means of the ring 10. All the dust which has collected in its folds is drawn out at the same time.

The ring 9 by scraping the stem draws out at the same time the dust which may have fallen from the folds of the bag during this operation.

By gently tapping the bag, the dust deposited thereon is shaken ofi; the outer surface of the bag can also be brushed from time to time in order to make it completely permeable again.

As will be seen from the above description, the apparatus is of very simple construction, since it comprises neither flexible tube nor carriage. nor complicated accessories and it is therefore light and inexpensive. It follows from the foregoing, that the dust can be very easily and very rapidly emptied out, the apparatus is always ready for use without its being necessary to assemble any members, it takes up little room, no more if no less than an ordinary broom, and the large surface of the permeable bag together with the fact that all the elements which constitute the outer housing are thoroughly airtight make for efiiciency.

I claim: a a

1. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of an elongate handle stem, a filter element mounted within said handle stem. a frame device over which said filter element is slipped. and a ring on which one end of said frame device is mounted, said ring being mounted in tight fitting engagement with the inner wall of said handle stem to form an effective dust seal withdrawing dust from said stem as said filter element is pulled out from said stem.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of an elongate handle stem, a filter element mounted within said handle stem, a frame device over which said filter element is sustained, a dust sealing member to which one end of said frame device is secured, said dust scaling member being mounted in tight fitting engagement within the inner wall of said handle stem, and means for manually withdrawing the frame device from the handle stem located at the opposite end of said dust sealing member.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of an elongate handle stem, a filter element mounted within said handle stem, and removable throughan open end-thereof, and 

